Private Jet to Tuscany

Tuscany, which conjures up images of romance, fine food, and wine, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. There are beautiful natural treasures like the mountains and the coast, beautiful manmade treasures like Michaelangelo's David and delicious Tuscan wines, olives, and food.

Tuscany -- Toscana in Italian -- is one of 20 regions in Italy. And, then, Tuscany is made up of 10 provinces: Florence (the capital of the Tuscany region), Arezzo, Grosseto, Livorno, Lucca, Massa Carrara, Pisa, Pistoia, Prato, and Siena. To understand where Tuscany lies, consider Italy’s boot-shape. It is just above the kneecap, lying along the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western coast. It covers almost 9,000 square miles and has a population of almost four million.

There is much written about how to best explore the Birthplace of the Renaissance but the two things that seem to appear on almost every list are: travel the region by car to best take in all the sights and take a cooking class to learn to make its famous, yet simple, dishes with plenty of tomatoes, pasta, olive oil, and cannellini beans. Tuscany, famous for its diverse landscape, is home to many olive gardens and vineyards. Drive the winding roads in the wine region of Chianti to stop and sip at the wineries and see the medieval castles, farms, and mansions that dot the countryside. That trip can be made in two hours or two days. Tuscany has the perfect climate for its wine that is known for its rich flavor and character but remains somewhat of a mystery because there are so many different subregions that each produce their own distinct varietal. Which is better, a Chianti or a Super Tuscan? You’ll have to judge for yourself. Another well-known wine is produced in a town of the same name: Montepulciano. A trip to the Tuscan countryside would not be complete without seeing the olive orchards where some of the best olive oil in the world is produced, including “premium extra virgin,” which means the olives were pressed within 12 hours of being picked.

To relax after the road trips through the country, check out many of the region’s hot springs or head to the coast, a mixture of beaches and cliffs that drop into the sea. Tuscany’s archipelago is made up of seven islands, some accessible by boat, most with picturesque and pristine beaches. The other side of Tuscany, the cultural side, is its cities and history and museums and, of course, works of its famous artists. Tuscany’s history dates to the Bronze Age. Michelangelo’s famous statue of David is located at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence. Other famous artists and scientists from Tuscany are Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Puccini, and Galileo. There are seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Tuscany, including Piazza del Duomo – with its leaning Tower of Pisa -- and the Historic Centre of San Gimignano, a medieval village enclosed by walls built in the 13th century. Also on the list is the Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany, where visitors can learn about the Medici family that ruled Florence and Tuscany for three centuries during the Renaissance. One last thing to know about visiting Tuscany: the heat can be brutal in the summer.